Messy Church

“What do a Buddhist, a biker couple, a gay-rights activist, a transient, a high-tech engineer, a Muslim, a twenty-something single mom, a Jew, a couple living together, and an atheist all have in common? They are all the future church in America” (John Burke, No Perfect People Allowed, p. 15)

All of the people above need Jesus. I know that because we all do, myself included. The traditional church has found itself in a position though of being unable to reach many groups and cultures. This is not the fault of the message, the message is the same today as it has always been. Part of the issue is that churches have developed a “come and see” mentality as opposed to a “go and tell” mind set. “If you build it, they will come” seems to have been the mantra for the past few decades. Whether the “it” was an actual building or a program.

We would still like to see everyone receive the gospel and experience the love of God but we would prefer to share that message from a distance. What we really hope is that some individuals would come to Christ before they come to the church. We would really prefer that by the time they choose to come to our church that they already, look, think, talk, and act like us. This is like doctors and nurses at a hospital expecting that all the people that make appointments are already taking the right medicine and treatments before they walk in the door. The thinking would be something like “If you are really very sick we would prefer that you stay home until you are better. We can have you spreading germs around our hospital”.

What would our churches look like though if all of these individuals just decided to just show up just as they are with one thing in common; they would like to learn more about Jesus. They may not be ready to swallow everything or any of what is said or taught, but something keeps bringing them back. John Burke says that this kind of church would look like a mess but that it would be a beautiful mess. 

The truth is most of these individuals aren’t just going to “show up”. We need to leave behind the “come and see” philosophy. We need to be a “living letter” that others can read and we need to spend time with others in stores, at work, in our own home getting to know them and their story if we ever expect them to listen to the story we have to share.

This can’t happen when we take a “better than you” attitude. Building relationships is key. It’s definitely a long haul approach but worth it. You are also going to still begin to see these individuals coming to your church perhaps long before they are ready to make any kind of change. This may change the look of things. It might look like “a mess” to some, but people coming to hear about, see, experience and eventually receive the love of God looks beautiful.